Quoting and Paraphrasing

What's the difference?

A good paper uses both direct quotes taken word-for-word from your article, and paraphrases of other important ideas. When deciding whether to quote or paraphrase, think about whether or not you will be able to put a quote into your own words. Paraphrases should generally be simpler and shorter than the quotes from the author.

Direct Quotes

Whenever you use the exact words you find in your source, you need to put quotation marks around the phrase. This is called a "direct quote." When you use a direct quote, you should make sure that you explain how the quote fits in with or supports your arguments. You can't just quote your whole paper; you need to include your thoughts and analysis along with quotes to support your ideas. A direct quote needs to be identical to the source. It's also a good idea to make sure the quote you choose is long enough to be meaningful, but not so long that it takes up a whole paragraph of your paper!

Paraphrasing

Your paraphrase should represent the author's ideas, but using only your own words to express them. Paraphrasing can be a lot trickier than using direct quotes, but with practice you can become an expert paraphraser. Swapping out synonyms or adding extra words to change a quote is not good paraphrasing! Try following these steps:

Start by asking yourself: What is the author really trying to say here? ​How would I explain this in my own words?

Without looking at the text, write down what you think the author is really saying in your own words.

Compare your version with the original. Ask yourself:

​Have I changed the text completely, so it is all in my own words?

Have I changed the structure of the sentence as well as the words?

Is my paraphrase true to what the author said, or have I changed the meaning in any way?

Have I remembered to insert an in-text citation after my paraphrase?

Continue to make changes until your paraphrase is both accurate and original.

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